All links are current as of the date of publication. All content created by the author is copyrighted 2005-2010, except where held by the owners/publishers of parent works and/or subject materials. Any infringement of another's work is wholly unintentional. If you see something here that is yours, a polite request for removal or credit will be honored.

Â

Old Rules, Same Game

Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2006 1:05 AM

Despite Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' opinion that the Geneva Conventions regarding the treatment of prisoners of war are obsolete and other provisions, 'quaint,' the White House has apparently declared that all detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and in U.S. military custody around the world are now entitled to those protections.

But let's not cheer too loudly.

Assistant Attorney General Steven Bradbury notes that the provisions for trials with judicial guarantees recognized as indispensable by civilized people is ambiguous and hard to interpret. "The application of common Article 3 will create a degree of uncertainty for those who fight to defend us from terrorist attack."

It's simple and not at all ambiguous, Steve âÂ if you were arrested, imprisoned, and up for trial, what judicial guarantees would you expect and/or demand? Might those be trifles like the Constitutional protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment, which General Michael Hayden and President Bush chose to ignore? How about the laws requiring warrants, such as FISA?

Ambiguous, my ass.

A degree of uncertainty? Utter baloney. This is simply another brazen attempt to staple the Bush Administration and its policies to the backs of our men and women in the armed forces. We're not talking about soldiers having to Mirandize suspects on the battlefield.

The media is busy cheering the 'new' Bush, the 'patient' Bush.

For my part, I haven't seen anything that shows there's been any change at all. It's the same old blathering about how the White House is following the law, working with Congress, and fighting for freedom.

After four years of watching the Taliban slink across the borders into neighboring countries like Pakistan, Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld affirmed that the Taliban won't undermine Afghanistan's emergent democracy.

This is nothing more than a campaign promise. More whistling to keep our nation's street corners clear of rampaging elephants.

I can almost hear Bush demanding successes to show the American public that we're serious, and we're winning the fight against terrorism.

So far, we've netted Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which slowed the insurgency down so much that we had a name for his successor inside of a week, and they're already claiming responsibility for the death of two American soldiers.

We closed down an alleged terrorist plot involving seven guys who had to be coached through oaths of allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and who lacked the monetary resources to carry out their plans. ("Okay, here's the oath, kid. It's in Pushtu. Owa Tastu Jiham.")

And let's not forget the plot to flood the Holland Tunnel and submerge Manhattan.Except that Manhattan is above sea level, and can't be flooded. (Shoot, don't these clowns go to the movies? They have to melt Greenland's ice cap to do that! Sheesh!)